Low-Effort Life Upgrades For People Who Are Already Tired
You don’t want a “rise and grind” routine. You want “barely trying but weirdly thriving.”
This is your unofficial guide to tiny, slightly chaotic life hacks that feel illegal but are actually allowed by the universe. None of these require waking up at 5 a.m., buying a $90 water bottle, or journaling about your “morning intentions.”
They *will* make you look suspiciously put-together for someone who still forgets why they walked into a room.
---
1. The “Default Outfit” That Saves Brain Cells
Your brain has limited decision-making energy, and you’re currently spending 80% of it deciding which pair of slightly identical black pants to wear. Time to cheat.
Pick 1–2 “default outfits” that:
- You feel good in
- Work for 80% of your life (work, errands, casual social stuff)
- Look way more intentional than they actually are
Hang those outfits **together** in your closet: shirt, pants, underwear, socks, everything. When future-you is half-asleep and one bad choice away from wearing pajama shorts to a meeting, all they have to do is grab a single hanger like a character loading a preset in a video game.
Bonus hacks:
- Take a mirror selfie of each “default outfit” on a good day. On bad days, just scroll and copy-paste your own fashion.
- Have a “panic outfit” for when you’re running late: black top, dark jeans, decent shoes. Minimal thought, maximum “I totally meant to look like this.”
People will call it a “capsule wardrobe,” but really it’s “I refuse to suffer before 9 a.m.”
**Why people share this:** It feels like cheating at adulthood, and everyone is secretly 3 decisions away from full chaos.
---
2. Turn Your Phone Into a Personal Assistant (That Bullies You Nicely)
You know how apps send you a notification like, “You haven’t moved in a while 👀”? Let’s weaponize that energy—but make it actually useful.
Use your phone’s alarm/reminders, but rename them like a slightly rude friend:
- Instead of: “Reminder: drink water”
Use: “You’re running on 7% battery and it’s not just your phone.”
- Instead of: “Pay rent”
Use: “Pay the landlord so you can continue storing your body indoors.”
- Instead of: “Go to bed”
Use: “Stop doomscrolling. The internet will still be dumb tomorrow.”
Set them for the **exact times you usually spiral**:
- Late-night scrolling? Bedtime reminder.
- Afternoon energy crash? Water and stretch reminder.
- 11:58 p.m. on the last day of the month? Rent reminder. Save Future You from that 12:01 a.m. heart attack.
Suddenly, your phone isn’t just a portable distraction machine; it’s a passive-aggressive life coach that lives in your pocket.
**Why people share this:** Everyone’s phone already runs their life—might as well make it roast them into being functional.
---
3. The “Two-Minute Trap” For Things You Keep Avoiding
Your brain loves to throw things into the “Later” abyss. Unfortunately, “Later” is where tasks go to die. Enter: the **Two-Minute Trap**.
The deal:
- If a task will take **under 2 minutes**, you do it **immediately**.
- No “I’ll do it after this video.”
- No negotiations. No treaty. Just do it.
Examples:
- Putting the dish *in* the dishwasher instead of in the sink “to rinse later” (lies).
- Replying “Got it, thanks!” instead of ghosting an email for 3 days because it looked emotionally threatening.
- Tossing junk mail straight into recycling instead of letting it colonize your table.
The magic isn’t that two-minute tasks are big. The magic is:
- Your space slowly stops looking like a “Before” photo.
- You stop carrying unnecessary mental tabs all day.
- You trick your brain into believing, “Look at us, we’re responsible now,” which weirdly makes bigger tasks less scary.
If a task will **definitely** take longer than two minutes, you’re allowed to write it down and walk away. This is life hacking, not a personality transplant.
**Why people share this:** It’s stupidly simple, makes you feel instantly more in control, and doesn’t involve waking up earlier.
---
4. Outsource Your Memory to the Environment (So Your Brain Can Chill)
Your memory is fine. Your **system** is trash. Stop trying to “remember things” and instead build **physical tripwires** that force Future You to deal with reality.
Examples:
- Put your keys *on top of* the thing you need to take with you (documents, package, lunch). You literally can’t leave without seeing it.
- Put your vitamins next to your coffee mug. You won’t remember health; you *will* remember caffeine.
- Want to read more? Put the book on your pillow. You can’t go to bed without moving it, and moving it reminds you it exists.
- Trying to drink more water? Put a full water bottle next to your phone charger so every time you plug in your phone, you unplug your thirst.
This is called a **cue-based habit**: linking something you already do to something you want to start doing. You’re not relying on motivation; you’re relying on “Oh right, this thing is in my way.”
The goal isn’t to become some perfectly optimized productivity robot. The goal is to stop losing packages, forgetting lunches, and discovering rotting Tupperware in your backpack three days later.
**Why people share this:** Everyone’s tired of being told to “try harder.” This is just rearranging your stuff so your environment does the nagging for you.
---
5. “Lazy Meal Templates” So You Never Have To Google Recipes Again
Cooking every day: exhausting.
Eating trash every day: also exhausting.
Solution: build **3–5 “meal templates”** instead of trying to learn full recipes from scratch.
A meal template looks like this:
**Template: “Stuff in a Bowl That Somehow Feels Fancy”**
- Base: rice, quinoa, noodles, salad, or frozen veggies
- Protein: beans, eggs, tofu, chicken, leftovers, whatever didn’t expire yet
- Crunch: nuts, seeds, tortilla chips, croutons, cucumber
- Sauce: soy sauce, hummus, salsa, tahini, bottled dressing, hot sauce
You don’t cook; you **assemble vibes**.
Other templates:
- **Lazy pasta**: pasta + whatever veg + olive oil/butter + garlic + cheese
- **Wrap it and hope for the best**: tortilla + any protein + greens + sauce
- **Breakfast-for-dinner**: eggs + toast + fruit + small moment of peace
Keep your kitchen stocked for your templates, not random recipes you saw once at 2 a.m. Suddenly, you’re “someone who cooks” while literally doing the bare minimum.
**Why people share this:** It’s the opposite of “meal prep Sundays with 19 matching containers”—and way more realistic for gremlin-core adults.
---
Conclusion
You don’t need a 47-step routine, a productivity guru, or a bullet journal that looks like a museum piece. You just need:
- A few decisions made once (default outfits, meal templates)
- Some tiny automations (reminders that roast you, two-minute tasks)
- Environments that bully you into remembering things
Life doesn’t have to be “all or nothing.” It can just be “slightly better, with less suffering.”
If this gave you even one idea you’re going to steal, send it to a friend who also looks suspiciously tired all the time. You might accidentally start a small revolution of low-effort, high-impact functioning.
---
Sources
- [American Psychological Association – Decision Fatigue](https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/06/fatigue) - Explains how making too many decisions drains mental energy, backing the idea of default outfits and routines
- [National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases – Healthy Eating & Meal Planning](https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/healthy-eating-nutrition/healthy-eating-plan) - Covers simple ways to plan balanced meals, supporting the “meal template” approach
- [Mayo Clinic – Habits 101: How to Build Healthy Routines](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/habits/art-20044989) - Discusses cue-based habits and how environment can support better routines
- [Harvard Business Review – Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time](https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time) - Describes why small changes that reduce mental load can boost overall performance and well-being
- [Cleveland Clinic – Benefits of Drinking Enough Water](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-is-water-important) - Provides evidence for hydration reminders and how small habits like drinking more water improve energy and focus